Monday, September 13, 2010

God's 'will'

Lately I’ve been considering what Gods ‘will’ for my life is, and how do I know that I’m fulfilling Gods will and purpose for my life, and this is the conclusion that I came to: It all comes back to the way you think; your mindset. Let me explain.

As I thought, I came to the conclusion that if I think the way God thinks (which obviously no-one can do purely), then I will make decisions that God would want me to, leading to me reaching the destiny that He has for my life.

And I know that no-one will ever have the same mind as God because we are only human and have faults. But it goes to show that the closer you get to thinking the way God does, the closer you will get to being completely in Gods will and fulfilling the destiny that He has for you.

Therefore, what you think is SO important! Because its your thoughts that shape who you are. That then begs the question ‘What is shaping your thoughts?’ or more to the point… ‘What are YOU allowing to shape your thoughts?’

There’s a quote that I’ve heard a few times by Ralph Waldo Emerson that goes like this:

Sow a thought, reap an action

Sow an action, reap a habit

Sow a habit, reap a character

Sow a character, reap a destiny

This simplified says that what you think, leads to your actions, which can then become habits, which is who you are. So it changes your character which is at the core of who you are, which then affects where you go in life.

Therefore, its simple to see that if you are having good, pure, right, happy, godly, righteous, self-controlled thoughts, then that will create you into someone with all of those traits, leading to your destiny being closer to where God wants you to be.

Whereas if your thoughts are not self-controlled, if they are un-godly or unrighteous, or any bad trait, then that will be who you become, which takes you away from God’s will, and leads you away from God.

So it all comes back to the way you think. It reminds me of the theory of the butterfly effect. That something small and minute can create a massive change. Like the small thoughts that you have leading to who you are, what you do, and where you end up in life. So its clear that how you think leads to whether you fulfill God’s will for your life. If you think and make decisions that God would, then you will end up perfectly in His will. Whereas if you don’t think and make decisions that God would, then you will end up a long way from God’s will.

How then do you begin thinking like God? Or should I say ‘Closer to the way God thinks?’ (as no-one will ever think exactly the way God does).

Romans 12:2 says ‘Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what Gods will is- His good, pleasing and perfect will.’

So this says that we will know God’s will if we don’t conform to the worlds way of thinking, and if we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. Simply this is saying that we need to think more like Jesus, and less like the world.

How then do we do this? By meditating on God’s word day and night (Psalms 1:2).

Something that I’ve noticed with people is they usually start to become like people they hang around the most. Look at any best friends and you will find many commonalities. And that because they spend a lot of time together. Therefore if you spend a lot of time with God, reading His word, and talking with Him, then the way you think will begin to be transformed into the way He thinks, hence leading to the decisions you make to be more in line with God’s will for your life.

So the more time you spend with God, the greater chance you will end up doing His purpose and will for your life and fulfill your destiny. And the less time you spend with Him, the greater chance you will end up somewhere completely different to where God wants you to be.

Ill finish this with something Paul told the Philippians (Ch 4:8-9) on what they should be thinking about. But I also encourage you to start spending more time with God, searching through His word, and speaking with Him. Then you should have confidence in the decisions you make.

‘Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.’